Hepatocellular carcinoma cell death induced by cyfluthrin: the cellular decision between apoptosis and autophagy

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Synthetic pyrethroids are frequently used for pest control in many areas such as food, agriculture, and livestock. Therefore, its toxic effects on human health need to be investigated in more detail. The aim of this study was to investigated the hepatotoxic effects of cyfluthrin depending on time and dose in terms of the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis and autophagy in the HepG2 cell line. The IC50 value of cyfluthrin (CYF) was calculated as 997.049 μmol/L, as a result of cell viability WST assay. Induction of apoptosis and autophagy was evaluated by Flow cytometry assay, PCR assay, Western Blot assay and IF methods. The results show that CYF induced autophagy by increasing LC3 and Beclin-1 levels on HEpG2 cells at 24 h. Moreover, CYF induced apoptosis by decreasing Bcl-2 and increasing BAX levels at 48 h. In conclusion, it is considered that autophagy is survival mechanism in early time, but the main death mechanism of CYF on HepG2 cells was apoptosis.